This study evaluates the effectiveness of an existing Executive Function (EF) intervention, implemented by teachers in Italian preschools. While early EF development has received significant attention, few studies have explored the impact of brief, teacher-led EF interventions in educational settings. The study included an intervention group (n =…

The purpose of this article is to examine the pilot program, STRIKE (Sustaining Technology-and Reading-Infused Kid-Friendly Education) at Night Literacy Camp, a week-long bedtime read-aloud camp held virtually on Facebook and YouTube Live platforms. The online program aims to increase access to culturally relevant, high-quality literature, include…

There is a need for empirically based educational practices shown to support learning, yet validation tends to require a high degree of experimental control that can limit ecological validity and translation to classrooms. We describe our iterative intervention design to support preschoolers' vocabulary through book reading coupled with playful…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often delayed in acquiring social initiation skills utilized during common early childhood activities. A multiple probe design was utilized to assess the efficacy of a shared book reading intervention to increase the independent commenting of three young children with ASD. The intervention resulted…

This study examines a community-wide effort to promote greater access to books through the mechanisms of physical and psychological proximity. It addresses the seasonal summer slide through an innovative book distribution program in neighborhoods identified as book deserts. Four low-income neighborhoods were provided with vending machines used to…

The purpose of this study was to develop a book sharing intervention to support the language development of infants and toddlers from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Low-income parents were engaged in a collaborative inquiry to develop "Little Talks." Parents were assigned to three small groups that independently…

The use of storytelling and discussion about difficult topics naturally lends itself to early skill development in both social-emotional and academic (i.e., emergent literacy) domains. In this article, the authors present initial information on the efficacy and feasibility of Tell Me A Story (TMAS), a program focused on supporting early childhood…

Vocabulary knowledge is an important predictor of literacy and broader academic outcomes, and children's literature is a rich source of sophisticated vocabulary. This study investigated the effect of providing instruction in word meanings as an adjunct to story-book read-aloud sessions in Grade One classrooms. The main intervention programme ran…

The purpose of this study was to examine how the social practices of African American families--with children in grades K-2--changed as a result of participating in a family literacy program utilizing African American children's literature. The families were exposed, through a series of workshops, to an abundance of children's literature…

Research Findings: Shared book reading provides a meaningful context for rich conversations to occur between a child and an adult and offers opportunities for children to be exposed to a range of vocabulary and concepts that often extend beyond their everyday experiences. Few studies have examined parent-child shared book reading as a context for…

Hopa Mountain's StoryMakers program is an innovative, research-based program for donating high quality young children's books to parents. Hopa Mountain is a nonprofit organization based in Bozeman, Montana. Hopa Mountain works with groups of rural and tribal citizen leaders who form StoryMakers Community Teams to talk one-on-one with local parents…

Family literacy studies have shown that the role of parental storybook reading has an impact on children's success in school-based literacy instruction. Storybook reading is when adults read an appropriate text to their children. This review describes studies in which parents and children engage in storybook reading. It specifically reports…

This study examined the effects of instructional intensity on the acquisition of storybook vocabulary in first graders who were at risk of early reading failure. It also measured whether the intervention was effective for closing the vocabulary knowledge gap between students who were at risk and their average-achieving peers. A total of 66…

The one year the author was an elementary librarian, she organized a Read Across America (RAA) celebration involving three different elementary campuses. This included bringing in community members to read, free books for students, and the piece de resistance--campus principals dressing up in the Cat in the Hat suit and reading to the entire…

This study examined the effects of an intensive shared book-reading intervention on the vocabulary development of preschool children who were at risk for vocabulary delay. The participants were 125 children, who the researchers stratified by classroom and randomly assigned to one of two shared book-reading conditions (i.e., the experimental, Words…